Temperature-controlling apparatus.



A. J. CHASE.

TEMPERATURE CONTROLLING APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 23, 1907.

1,005,599. Patented Oct. 10,1911; I

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH co., WASHINGTON. n. c,

A. J. CHASE. TEMPERATURE CONTROLLING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 28, 1907.

Patented Oct. 10, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

dwwy BY COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co.. WASHINGTON, I). C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

ANDREW J. CHASE, OF MELROSE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR- 0F ONE-HALF TO CON- FUCIUS CHASE, OF ROXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS, AND ONE-HALF TO ADDIE E.

HOWES, OF MELROSE, MASSACHUSETTS.

TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 10, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW J. CriAsn, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Melrose, in the county of MiddleseX and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Temperature-Controlling Apparatus, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

llly invention relates to improvements in temperature controlling apparatus, and has particular reference to apparatus of this character for use in connection with freight cars.

The transportation of perishable products, such as fresh meats, fruits, etc., in especially prepared freight cars, has heretofore been attempted with varying degrees of success. The general form of such devices is to provide the ends of the cars with suitable ice-charged receptacles having provision for the passage of the air through channels formed through the receptacles, the general idea being that by such construction the air within the car is caused to pass through the cooling conduits toward the bottom of the car, the air to be cooled being obtained from the upper or warmer strata of air located adjacent the top of the car. In this mannerthe temperature of the entire car is presumed to be lowered. In actual practice, however, the conditions presented are such as to negative the obtaining of a perfectly satisfactory result, the space within the car the air of which must be subjected to the act-ion of the cooling device or devices, being so comparatively large as to practically prohibit the obtaining of a temperature throughout thecar which is below the freezing point, without the use of an excessive amount of refrigerating material, such as ice, and even then there is no certainty that such result will be obtained. And where the result is actually obtained, it will be obvious that such roducts as do not require a preserving temperature of as low a degree as the freezing point, and in cases where such a temperature would have a deleterious effect on the product, could not be carried within a car having such low temperature, necessitating the shipment of products of a restricted class within the same car. And, as before stated, the size of the car is such as to make it difiicult to provide a uniform temperature througlv out, it being obvious that the air located at the ends of the car adjacent the bottom of, the air conduits will necessarily be the coldest points within the car, even if it were possible to carry the entire temperature. of the car to a point below the freezing point, but the use of the structures for this purpose heretofore provided will not permit of any attempt being made to approximately maintain or control the temperature at any given point within the car at a desired temperature or to even predetermine the temperature at such desired point.

One of the objects of my invention therefore, is to provide an apparatus which, when used for the purpose of producing a low temperature, will produce, within the car, temperatures of distinct degrees; for mstance, a predetermined restricted portion will have a temperature at or below the freezing point, while the remainder of the air within the car will be maintained at a temperature above that of the restricted portion.

Another object of the invention is to so form the structure of a refrigerating apparatus that, if steam or hot water be substituted for the refrigerant, the effect will be to artificially raise the temperature wlthin the car and maintain it substantially equable for a considerable length of time without requiring a new charge.

Other objects of the inventlon are to provide specific details of construction by means of which the aforesaid ob ects may be obtained.

To these and other ends the nature of which will be readily understood as the 1nvention is hereinafter disclosed, said invention consists in the improved construction and combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, in which similar reference characters indicate similar parts 1n each of the views,-Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of one end of a car, showing my invention applled thereto, the section being taken on line ww of Flg.

2. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line y-y of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the car taken on line 22 of Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section taken through one of the auxiliary receptacles. Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the pipe 21. Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view taken on line 66 of Fig. 2.

In the drawings, the car, one end of which is shown in conventional form, is provided with a floor 10, preferably having a removable slatted portion or frame and providing air passageways extending lengthwise along the bottom of the car, and also having sides 11, end 12, and roof 13. The general construction of the car may be of any preferred .form, it being understood, of course, that provlsion 1s made to make the same pract1-- cally air-tight. I

Adjacent the end of the car, I provide a battery of vertically-extending receptacles 14, preferably four in number, each receptacle having a vertically-extending coneshaped tube 15, the bottom of which is open, as at 16, and having its top bent inwardly and horizontally, as at 17, the horizontal portion extending through the wall of the receptacle and having an open end, thereby providing an open-ended air conduit which extends from the side of the receptacle adjacent its top, into and vertically through the receptacle. The space within the receptacle between its walls and the wall of the air conduit just described, forms an annular chamber 18 adapted to receive either a refrigerant such as ice, and its liquid prod ucts, or steam or hot water, as hereinafter described. The lower end of each chamber 18 is closed, and the lower end of each receptacle is spaced from the floor of the car, the receptacles being secured in any suitable manner within the ends of the car. Suitable openings are formed in each receptacle 1 1 for cleaning purposes, these openings being closed by movable closures such as plugs. The top of each chamber is closed by a suitable closure, as at 19, preferably located in the roof of the car, the form of the closure being immaterial, it being understood, of course, that the construction will normally retain the chamber closed against the entrance of air, but which will permit of the introduction of ice or its equivalent when such refrigerant is to be used for the purpose of providing a refrigerating car. It will also be understood that instead of using a separate closure for each chamber, the closure may, if desired, be of a form to permit access to more than one of the chambers; in fact, a single closure may be provided for all of the chambers located at one end of the car, if such construction is desired. The chambers 18 are preferably connected together by suitable connections 20, although, if desired, the connection may. be

such as to make only some of the chambers intercommunicating, in which case the chambers of the outer receptacles must be connected with the chambers of the receptacles adjacent thereto for a purpose to be hereinafter set forth.

To permit of the supplying of steam or hot water to the chambers, 1 preferably provide a pipe 21 which extends from one side of the car to the other, said pipe passing through the chambers 18, and if desired may pass through the connections 20, said pipe having its ends extending through the side walls of the car and provided with suitable valves and connections by means of which connection may be made with any suitable source of supply. The pipe 21 is perforated preferably within the chambers 18.

Located at the oppositesides of the car are auxiliary receptacles 22 in the form of elongated closed casings each having a series of vertically-extending tubes or pipes 23, open at each end, said tubes forming air passages extending from points above to points below the top and bottom, respectively, of the casing, the space within the casing around the tubes 23 forming a chamber annular with respect to each of the tubes. Each casingis secured to the side of the car in any suitable manner, the bottom of the casing being spaced from the floor of the car, and each casing is provided with a pipe 24, which connects it with one of the receptacles 1%, (as indicated at 18 in Fig. 3) thereby providing a passageway for the liquid products of the chamber 18 to the receptacle 22, the latter being provided at its top with an overflow pipe 25, said pipe extending over the casing and having its free end extending downwardly between the receptacles 14; and 22 to a point adjacent the floor or, if desired, said pipe may be connected directly to a water trap 26 having a construction by means of which air will not enter the car through the outlet provided by the trap. \Vhere but a single trap is to be used at each end of the car, the overflow will lead to a depression or gutter which leads to a single trap structure, the pipes 25 from each receptacle 22 leading to a point where the discharge will be made into the depression. A drip pan of suitable type may be located below the receptacles 22 to catch the drippings which may result from the extraction of the moisture from the air passing through the tubes 23. As the depression or gutter for the overflow is located adjacent the lower ends of the receptacles 1 1, the moisture from the tubes 15 will be led directly toward such depression, but should it be desired, however, to supply a separate drip-pan for the tubes 1:"), such structure may be provided. Each casing 22 is mounted within a vertically-extending inclosure formed of ends 221 and 222 secured to posts 223 extending from the floor of the car, and suitable cleats secured to the side of the car. The inclosure is completed on its sides by the side of the car and a partition 224 secured to the posts 223. The side 22 1 and end 221. are in the form of partitions which are spaced from the floor a suitable distance, while the end 222 extends into contact with the floor. Each of the walls of the inclosure (with the exception of the side of the car) extends upwardly to a point approximate the upper end of the tubes 23, the end 222 if desired, extending slightly above the plane of the other walls.

28 designates a partition which extends across the car intermediate the receptacles 14 and 22, the upper end of the partition being located slightly below the plane of the upper openings of the tubes 15, the lower end of the partition being spaced from the floor of the car. This partition is a permanent one. 29 also designates a verticallyextending partition extending across the car in alinement with the ends 222 said partition 29 being removably secured to the adjacent posts 223 by suitable means, such as the hooks 30. The partition 29 is of the same height as the ends 222 and has its lower edge also in contact with the floor.

Preferably I duplicate the arrangement at the opposite end of the car, that above described being that part of the apparatus lo cated at one end of the car. Such duplica tion is preferable as it not only provides an additional restricted cold storage chamber but the space within the car the air of which is to be controlled with respect to its temperature is practically divided into two portions each of the apparatuses used operating in connection with about half the car.

The operation of the structure will now be described :1Vhen the car is to be used as a refrigerating car, the partitions 29 are placed in position, and each of the chambers 18 supplied with the proper amount of re frigerating material, such as ice. As the tubes 15 become cooled by the refrigerant, a downwardly-directed current of air 1s formed within each of said tubes, this movement being due to the fact that the air within the tubes 15, becoming colder than the air not actually in contact with or subject to the influence of the ice-packed chambers 18, passes below such less colder air in a manner well known. The air supplied to the tubes 15 is that located adjacent the roof of the car (the strata of greatest warmth), the air entering through the upper ends of the tubes 15. As heretofore stated, the lower end of the partition 28 is spaced from the floor of the car while the lower end of the partition 29 extends to the floor. This construction provides a restricted space adjacent the ends of the car and located at its bottom, within which the cold air emerging from the tubes 15 can freely pass, the space thus provided being practically the only outlet for the cold air, it being understood of course, that the movement of such cold air would be laterally on substantially horizontal planes, this movement being due to the continuous discharge of the air from the tubes 15, this discharge displacing the air of such lower stratum, the lateral movement being stopped by the partition 29. This space forms what may be termed an open-topped chamber, viz, a chamber closed on all sides with the exception of its top, the plane of the top being substantially that of the top edge of the partitions 29 and 222. As the discharge continues, the air within such open-topped chamber is forced to rise, being of a slightly higher temperature than that just emerging from the tubes 15, this operation continuing until the chamber is practically filled with the colder air, which, being of a distinctly lower temperature than the air above it, will simply pass laterally over the partition and tend to drop toward the floor on the opposite side of the partition 29. As a result I form what might be termed a cold storage chamber the top of which is almost as distinctive as if an actual top were formed thereon. As will be obvious, the chamber so formed is restricted as to size and is practically unaffected by the air from the other portions of the car as the cold air being continuously supplied thereto having no other outlet and the outlet from said chamber being only at the top, com bined with the fact that the air contained therein is practically the coldest in the car, practically prevents the entrance of the warmer air. Hence it will be understood that to produce a low temperature within the chamber does not require the action of such excessive quantity of the refrigerant as would be required in attempting to bring the temperature of the entire car down to such low temperature, the additional fact that the required circulation is practically confined within a restricted space and therefore more rapid, insuring that the temperature within this chamber is rapidly carried down to a point at or below the freezing point and maintained at that point without extra provision being made as to refrigeration. To aid in the production of this result, the auxiliary receptacles 22 are provided, said receptacles being located adjacent to and having the air cooled thereby communicating with this chamber, said receptacles being supplied with liquid refrigerant from the lower end of the chamber 18 with which it is connected. As the ice melts its liquid product passes to the bottom of the chamber 18 from which it passes to the chamber located in the receptacle 22, which, when filled, passes out through overflow pipe 25. As the liquid within the receptacles moves upwardly therein a circulation of refrigerant in an upward direction, is provided, thereby keeping the tubes 28 cool and providing additional air-conduits leading from a point above the plane of the chamber to the space below the bottom of the tubes, which space is inopen communication with the chamber thereby aiding in maintaining the temperature in said chamber at its approximate predetermined point. As above stated, when the receptacles 22 have been filled and the overflow comes into operation, it will be understood that not only is there a circulation of air induced through the tubes 23, but at the same time there is provided a circulation of refrigerant there through the movement of which is in a direction opposite that of the air-currents through the tubes 23, thereby insuring the delivery of the cold air from the bottom of said tubes 23, at a maximum low temperature.

WVhile the receptacles are located within the inclosures 220 and therefore divided from the open space formed adjacent the ends of the car and which is termed the cold storage chamber, I do not wish it to be understood that there is thereby provided an independent chamber within the storage chamber. The sides 22 1 and end 221 are not intended to form such independent chambers, being provided for the purpose of causing the air within the chamber to be revolved or kept in motion by the lateral discharge of the colder air from the bottom of the tubes 23 into the storage chamber, and also for the purpose of protecting the receptacles 22. As will be understood, some of the colder air will move vertically between the receptacles 22 and the sides 224t which air, being in contact with said sides, will tend to keep them in a cool condition and aid in retaining the storage chamber in its cooler state. And inasmuch as substantially the entire amount of cold air discharging from the several cooling devices passes into said storage chamber, being in open communication therewith, there being no obstruction interposed between said chamber and the space below the plane of the outlet ends of the tubes 15 and 23, said receptacles 1 1 and 22 may be said to be located within the cold storage chamber.

When the car is to be used for transporting perishable products of a character which would be damaged by low temperatures, the partition 29 is removed, the slatted floor placed in position (if it had not been in use for refrigerating purpose) and connection made with a suitable source of supply of steam or hot water the supply being connected to the steam pipe 21. When the receptacles l t and 22 have become charged, upwardly-directed air-currents will be formed Within the tubes 15 and 23, the air being supplied from the floor of the car, the discharge being at the top of the tubes, thus heating the top of the car. As the circulation through the car is formed, the withdrawal of the colder air from the lower strata, passing it through the tubes 15 and 23, and discharging it into the upper part of the car will gradually increase the tem perature of successive air-strata downwardly until the entire car is brought to a substantially uniform temperature.

It will. be understood that the presence of the cold storage chamber and the ready ability to retain its low temperature, permit the car to have two generally distinctive temperatures, one above and the other at or below the freezing point, thereby permitting the car to be used for carrying perishable products requiring different degrees of temperature.

The fact that the receptacles can be charged with either the refrigerant or the heating means without opening the car in such manner as to permit the entrance of air, permits successive charges to be placed in position without affecting the circulation therein to any material extent, so that the temperatures may be maintained even where the car is transported for great distances.

It is to be understood that such modifications in structure and size and number of parts as may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims, may be employed, and I reserve the right to make use of such modifications.

Having thus described my invention and ways in which it can be carried into effect without pointing out all of the modifications thereof which may be comprised therein, What I claim as new is 1. In refrigerating cars, a partition extending across the car body adjacent its end, said partition extending vertically from the floor of the car and being of less height than the height of the interior of the car to form a restricted space at the end of the car, refrigerant-containing devices extending with in said space, and auxiliary air-cooling devices located within said space in communication with the refrigerant-containing devices, eachof said devices having air passages extending therethrough.

2. In refrigerating cars, a partition extending across the car body adjacent its end, said partition extending vertically from the floor of the car and being of less height than the height of the interior of the car to form a restricted space at the end of the car, refrigerant-containing devices extending within said space, and auxiliary air-cooling devices located within said space in communication with the refrigerant-containing devices, each of said devices having air passages extending therethrough, the plane at the top of said space being approximately the top plane of the auxiliary devices.

3. In refrigerating cars, a battery of refrigerant-receptacles having air-conduits extending therethrough, auxiliary receptacles located adjacent to and in communication with said refrigerant receptacles, said auxiliary-receptacles each having air conduits, and a partition extending vertically from the floor of the car to a point approximate the top plane of said auxiliary receptacles, said partition extending across the car.

4:. In refrigerating cars, a series of refrigerant receptacles having air-conduits extending therethrough, auxiliary receptacles located adjacent to and in communication with said refrigerant-receptacles, said auxiliary receptacles each having vertically-extending air conduits, said refrigerant and auxiliary receptacles each being spaced from the floor of the car, a partition extending across the car at the ends of said auxiliaryreceptacles, said partition extending vertically from the floor of the car to a point approximate the top plane of the auxiliary receptacles, and an over flow pipe connected to the top of each auxiliary receptacle.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in the presence of tWo Witnesses.

ANDREW J. CHASE. l/Vitnesses:

JOHN C. HATCH, CHARLEs 0. WHEELER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing" the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

